“Be a Princess”
The last time I visited my physical therapist for the zwangerschap pain I was having, she encouraged me to “be a princess” in the days after birth. At the time, I laughed at the thought. How could I be a princess in trying to learn how to care for this new little life?
Somehow, it has happened. My mom and my husband have whisked Little Rebecca away from me whenever her diaper needs changing and returned to me to hold or to nurse. Thanks to my mom, I’ve had meals placed before me, laundry done, and the house cleaned. Thanks to my husband, I’ve had all my post-delivery aches and pains tended to and all the extra, unanticipated items bought and delivered to my bedside.
So, yes, my mother arrived the day before I gave birth and has been able to help in ways Dan and I could have only imagined. And I have an incredibly doting husband. But in addition to their help, I have the Dutch on my side. The Dutch, you see, treat a “kraamvrouw” just like a princess. In the days after the birth, Rebecca and I were hospitalized for 3 nights, with first class treatment from the nurses. (As in, hospital bed rolled to the shower so I wouldn’t have to walk – ok, ok, it was after I nearly fainted, but still…)
Yet it was after we returned home that the royal treatment really started. Since we got home, we’ve had seven – SEVEN – house calls from medical professionals, and there is at least one more next week. We’ve had the home health nurse come twice (my eight days of care was cut short because of the extra time in the hospital), the midwife has come three times, the regular doctor came once (just to introduce himself), and the pediatric bureau has come once. They’ll come again next week. If I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have to leave the house until the baby is 1 month old for her 1 month check-up. The midwife and the doctor would both make housecalls until 6 weeks after delivery.
That, my friends, is how to make a princess out of me.
Somehow, it has happened. My mom and my husband have whisked Little Rebecca away from me whenever her diaper needs changing and returned to me to hold or to nurse. Thanks to my mom, I’ve had meals placed before me, laundry done, and the house cleaned. Thanks to my husband, I’ve had all my post-delivery aches and pains tended to and all the extra, unanticipated items bought and delivered to my bedside.
So, yes, my mother arrived the day before I gave birth and has been able to help in ways Dan and I could have only imagined. And I have an incredibly doting husband. But in addition to their help, I have the Dutch on my side. The Dutch, you see, treat a “kraamvrouw” just like a princess. In the days after the birth, Rebecca and I were hospitalized for 3 nights, with first class treatment from the nurses. (As in, hospital bed rolled to the shower so I wouldn’t have to walk – ok, ok, it was after I nearly fainted, but still…)
Yet it was after we returned home that the royal treatment really started. Since we got home, we’ve had seven – SEVEN – house calls from medical professionals, and there is at least one more next week. We’ve had the home health nurse come twice (my eight days of care was cut short because of the extra time in the hospital), the midwife has come three times, the regular doctor came once (just to introduce himself), and the pediatric bureau has come once. They’ll come again next week. If I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have to leave the house until the baby is 1 month old for her 1 month check-up. The midwife and the doctor would both make housecalls until 6 weeks after delivery.
That, my friends, is how to make a princess out of me.
posted by Beth at 7:20 PM
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